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Thursday, April 13, 2017

I'm going to take you through a brief travelogue for this post to welcome the season. Click the links to see the spots I reference. Come on, it'll be fun.

Spring is tweeting outside my office window and Easter means a visit to the sugar bush around here. (Ask Google to translate this page.)

My windows are open for the first time in weeks. The birds and sheep are making a racket. The snow is melted in the major spots, only hanging on in dirty clumps in the corners. We don't have a yard. We have a bloody forest and the deer have been coming right to the house in search of a hand-out. It's been a hard winter for them.

My office faces the Gatineau Hills within the National Capital Region. I write crime fiction set in the wilderness places of Western Quebec. I'm more than a little conscious of the natural world and it infuses my writing.

My books sell really well in my area. Cottagersand locals love to read about murder when they're relaxing at the lake. It's a Canadian thing. (Yes, I know I've linked to Lac Bernard Cottage Rentals. I'm not trying to rent you a cottage. The pictures are pretty. Just look at them. Enjoy.)

My nearest village is Wakefield, Quebec, a happening creative hive. Theatre, music, art, festivals, fine-dining and wholesome food--as well as a river, green hills and really nice people. At this time of year, when the ice is off the waterways and the sun is beginning to be felt again, you'll find people standing around in parking lots talking about the winter like we've come through a siege.

This is before the bugs get here and then Spring is intolerable and we can't wait for the hot weather to kill off the bugs. And then we complain that it's too hot. (This actually happens.)

With the approach of Mother's Day (May 14) and the start of Cottage Season (May 22 - also known as Victoria Day), my thoughts naturally turn to marketing....

If you're a cottager, or live in the Ottawa Valley, or in Canada, and crave a helping of Canadian Crime Fiction to celebrate Canada's Sesquicentennialhave I got a book (or three) for you!

Iced Under, The Grey Lady and The River Bride are available at Kobo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Apple iBooks for $6.99 CND (and Australia who are my best customers for some reason. Love you guys.)Iced Under